At Olympics, Americans have home field advantage

EAST LANSING, Mich. —- Chinese officials have tapped Michigan State University’s preeminent turf scientists to help build a portable athletic field for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing National Stadium.

The MSU team, lead by professor John “Trey” Rogers, gained prominence by first introducing portable turf at the 1994 World Cup at the Pontiac Silverdome — the first time World Cup soccer was played indoors.

Takes months

The current, months-long project has involved building and managing more than 5,500 modules of Kentucky bluegrass about five miles away from the new Beijing stadium.

Immediately after the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies, the modules — each weighing 1,100 pounds — will be moved into the stadium.

MSU is acting as a consultant on the project. The turf will support the main track and field competitions and the gold medal soccer match, as well as future events at the 91,000-seat stadium, which is also known as the Bird’s Nest.